It’s time to reward those who have been nice and offer appropriate gifts to the naughty. So, without further ado, we play Santa Claus to the casino industry …

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.

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.

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.