Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on December 21, 2022September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

Penn problems; Maryland sports bets boffo; Oscar pix

Regulators in Massachusetts struck an unsatisfactory compromise with Penn Entertainment. The latter’s Plainridge Park was granted a sports book license, conditional upon a suitability investigation of Barstool Sports founder—and the new face of Penn—Dave Portnoy. “We are very comfortable with there being an investigation,” Penn CEO Jay Snowden told regulators, somehow managing to keep a straight face. Snowden probably left his Barstool T-shirt, which he wears around the office (it’s a fact), in the dungeon where he plays submissive to Portnoy’s dominatrix. Why the Massachusetts Gaming Commission should need to probe into Portnoy is a mystery to us. His unsuitability is out in the open for everyone to see. How is it that Steve Wynn could not get a Bay State gaming license but Portnoy might? We sense a double standard at work. A license, once issued to Penn, will be very hard to claw back.

Posted on December 21, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 13 Comments

The Old Man

Today’s column is less technical and more about “how I do things” that aren’t specifically related to video poker.

Most of you have heard of Adele, one of the premier singers of our time. She is performing a series of concerts at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and I was invited to receive two tickets. Bonnie’s daughter, Joyce, is a huge fan, so we arranged for Bonnie and Joyce to attend the concert on December 3, while I played enough in the casino to “keep those offers coming.”

Posted on December 20, 2022September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Pennsylvania, Michigan cool; Cuban covets Texas casino

Heaven be praised for the coming of 2023, not because 2022 was bad (quite the contrary) but because Wall Street is addicted to measuring this year against 2019, not 2021 … which can be quite crazy-making. By that yardstick, Pennsylvania casinos would appear to be staggering, -15%. But when measured against last year, they’re languishing only mildly, down 3% last month. Newcomers tended to grow (more of that later) and incumbents lost market share. Even after a 6% slippage, Parx Casino impressed with $46 million and Wind Creek Bethlehem notched $40.5 million, -2.5%. The cutthroat Philadelphia market is owned by Parx while the best of the rest was Philadelphia Live with $19 million, up a resurgent 19% and a few hundred thousand clams in front of Rivers Philadelphia, which is 7% off last year’s pace. Harrah’s Philadelphia plunged 16% to $12 million and little Valley Forge Resort tumbled 16.5% to $9.5 million.

Posted on December 19, 2022September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 2 Comments

Atlantic City hops; NV regulators take a dive; Vagina monologue

November was a metaphorically warm month for Atlantic City, whose casino revenues grew 4% from last year, reaching $214.5 million. Spoiler alert, Borgata was way out front with $55 million, leaping 14%. Hard Rock Atlantic City dimmed 5% to a still-impressive $35.5 million and Ocean Casino Resort (pictured) jumped 9% to get uncomfortably close to second place at $31 million. Harrah’s Resort faded 6% but still led the Caesars Entertainment threesome with $21 million. Caesars Atlantic City banked $19 million, a 16.5% surge, while Tropicana Atlantic City climbed 2% to a hair over $19 million. Among the have-nots, Resorts Atlantic City fared best, climbing 3% to $12.5 million. Golden Nugget ceded 5% to hit $11 million and Bally’s Atlantic City sank 10% to land in last place with a symmetrical $10 million. Yup, those Chicago revenue projections sure look on the money. (Not.)

Posted on December 16, 2022August 29, 2023 by 888 Casino — 4 Comments

Casino Hosts — Concierges for Gamblers

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.

A.C. says: The author references Steve Cyr’s interview in Cigar Aficionado. For those who don’t know, Cyr is the subject of our book Whale Hunt in the Desert, written by LVA’s Deke Castleman. This article discusses a host’s duties in broad terms and hints at how wild life as a host can get. Hints. For the holy-shit particulars, read the book.

Posted on December 15, 2022September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Caesars, Penn dimmed; Barstool fined; Card room zinged

Both Caesars Entertainment and Penn Entertainment lost traction yesterday on Wall Street after Bank of America analyst Shaun Kelley downgraded the casino giants. His primary concern was a potential downturn in gaming, due to larger macroeconomic issues, that has yet to manifest itself. Kelly reset his price target for CZR to $55 and PENN to $40. Presently, Caesars is trading at $48.30/share and Penn is languishing at $32.94. Noting that casinos were the largest “over-earners” compared to the pre-Covid economy, Kelley fretted that “unlike other areas in consumer discretionary [spending], estimates have not yet come down, leaving potential risk should the consumer soften.” Given the extensive regional exposure of both companies, should non-Las Vegas casinos weaken first (as history suggests they will), Penn and Caesars would have their butts hanging out in the breeze.

Posted on December 14, 2022September 26, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

Massachusetts leaps; Holiday season in A.C.; Apollo’s new toy

November was good for casinos in Massachusetts, up 6% from last year to a gross of $93 million. Encore Boston Harbor led the way with $59.5 million, an 8% gain. MGM Springfield chipped in $22 million, up 2% despite an 18% plunge in table winnings. A 9% jump in slot win saved the day. Plainridge Park was nice and steady, up 4% from both last year and 2019 for $11.5 million in the kitty. Wynn Resorts got another piece of good news when WynnBet became the first mobile sports-betting provider to be licensed in the Bay State. Wynn has clearly learned how to do business in Massachusetts, where regulation is taken seriously (unlike Nevada, where regulators bend over and grab their ankles). The Steve Wynn imbroglio was definitely a teaching moment and Wynn Resorts benefited from it. By contrast, MGM’s sports-betting push got pushed back by a vaporous business plan and Plainridge Park’s has a serious problem that can summarized in two simple words: Dave Portnoy. Until and unless Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden overcomes his codependent-abusive relationship with Portnoy, expect regulatory grief to continue.

Posted on December 13, 2022August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 14 Comments

A Mailer to Appreciate

I recently wrote that I had hit a $120,000 royal flush at Dotty’s in October. I mused that possibly the plug had been pulled on my welcome as I had hit a number of big jackpots there in the past. Several readers responded that surely my time was up there.

In November, I received no mailer at all. I looked at this as a “possible sign” of the end of my welcome, but not definitive. In October, my mailer was for $1 a week for the first three weeks, and a whopping $2 for the fourth week. I left them uncashed, except for cashing one of them on the one day I went in to play.

Posted on December 13, 2022September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

Indiana flat, Missouri down; Bally’s happy talk; Miller loses it

Casinos in Indiana kept pace with 2021 last month, grossing $196 million. No prizes for guessing who was tops—Hard Rock Northern Indiana with $35.5 million, a 14% leap from the previous November. Horseshoe Hammond fell 16% but hung in there impressively with $26 million, while Ameristar East Chicago slid 14% to $15 million. Michigan-facing Blue Chip dipped 7% to $10 million. Horseshoe Indianapolis performed by far the better of the state’s two racinos, banking $28 million on a 17% surge, far outpacing Harrah’s Hoosier Park‘s $18.5 million, a 7% fade. In the southern tier, tribal Caesars Southern Indiana was up 8% to $19.5 million, not having missed a step since changing hands. Bally’s Evansville climbed 11% to $14 million and French Lick Resort was up 5% to $6 million. Less fortunate were Hollywood Lawrenceburg, down 10% to $13 million, and Belterra Resort, off 3% to $7 million.

Posted on December 9, 2022September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

Illinois, Ohio still firm; Daffy bill in N.Y.; Raiders collapse

November was good for casinos in Ohio and Illinois, both of which posted strong numbers, modestly ahead of last year but—in Ohio’s case—still high heavens above 2019. Fresh off its October dethroning of MGM Northfield Park, rival Hollywood Columbus slipped back into second place with $21 million (+3.5%). MGM’s $23 million, an 8% surge, was again good enough for top honors. Third was Jack Cleveland (pictured), flat and incrementally below $21 million. Other strong achievers were Miami Valley Gaming, up 9% to $18.5 million and Scioto Downs, up 5.5% to $18 million. Hard Rock Cincinnati ceded 2.5%, although it grossed $19.5 million just the same. Hollywood Toledo gained 3% to finish at $17.5 million. The weakest performer was Belterra Park, falling 11% to $7 million. Jack Thistledown was flat at $14 million, Hollywood Dayton gained a point to $11 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley leapt 8.5% to $12.5 million. All in all, a sweet month for Penn Entertainment.

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