I was associated with WinPoker for many years. It was, and is, a good product. Our breakup happened when Video Poker for Winners invited me along and promised to have a strategy calculator — a feature I think is important.
So I left WinPoker. I’ve remained on good terms with Dean Zamzow, the man in charge of all things related to WinPoker, but have no remaining financial interest in that product.
Continue reading Adding Triple Double Bonus to WinPoker
There’s so much news today we almost don’t know where to begin. But we’ll start with Atlantic City, which reported a 2% increase in casino revenue, to $229 million. Internet gambling and sports betting chipped in another $169 million. One of the biggest beneficiaries was Bally’s Atlantic City (above), which leapt 20% to $13.5 million. Other coffee achievers were Ocean Casino Resort, which catapulted 29.5% to $30 million, and Hard Rock Atlantic City, scarcely to be outdone with a 26.5% increase to $44.5 million. Borgata actually lost market share (or was unlucky at the tables), down 4% to $54 million. Of the Caesars Entertainment threesome, only Tropicana Atlantic City was revenue-positive, up 1.5% to $21.5 million. Harrah’s Resort was 5.5% down to $20 million and Caesars Atlantic City, formerly the most volatile house in town, ceded just 4% to $19 million. Resorts Atlantic City was flat at $14 million and Golden Nugget nudged up 3.5% to a last-place $12.5 million. Overall, slot revenue climbed 11% to $171 million on 12% more coin-in, while tables saw 4% less win but on 7% less wagering.
Continue reading Atlantic City strong; Station’s demolition derby; De$anti$ hits jackpot; Mega-Jottings
Ocean Casino Resort has unveiled its pricey new sports book and our Atlantic City correspondent deems it nothing short of “spectacular! In the center is a circular bar, surrounded by TV screens. There is a set of steps (and elevator) to the Balcony Bar overlooking the main area. Borgata‘s sports book used to be number-one in being attractive. Not any longer.” Our man on the town stayed at Hard Rock Atlantic City and reports “it’s much nicer here at Hard Rock than Bally’s; here you can choose from four or five breakfast places that are open.” Meanwhile, all bets are off for the Golden Nugget and Resorts Atlantic City. They have until Tuesday to reach terms with Unite-Here and if they poor-mouth the union then pickets are a certainty.
Continue reading Atlantic City notes; MGM Singapore?; Mega-Jottings
Prior to the current Covid-19 lockdown, casinos in Macao were already engaged in a $600 million/month cash burn, thanks to the China‘s zero-tolerance policy on the disease. That will only get worse now that access to customers has been shut off entirely, needless to say. Given the former and potential money-making puissance of Macao, the six operators have no chance but to hunker down and absorb the punishment, especially as they wait the six months before their licenses are renewed, as appears inevitable. (And why not?) “The sad part is that it’s going to be years until business comes back to where it used to be,” observed gaming pundit Alidad Tash. How many years remains to be seen but the smart money is on later rather than sooner.
Continue reading Insolvency in Macao; Sports betting everywhere
It’s not just us who are leery of Bally’s Corp. and its ability to do something unprecedented in its history—swing a $1.7 billion casino in Chicago. The company’s corner-cutting “improvement” of Bally’s Atlantic City does not inspire confidence. Nor does a “negative” rating placed on Bally’s debt by both Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s. As Crain’s Chicago Business explains, “That means that while no immediate credit downgrade has occurred, concern about the company’s finances is rising and a downgrade is a distinct possibility in the near future.” S&P cited potential difficulty in obtaining building permits, as well as inflationary pressures on the project cost: “In addition, the risks related to successfully ramping up the operations and cash flow generation of a greenfield project are high.”
Continue reading Bally’s Chicago stirs skepticism; Vegas locals coolingI was leaving the South Point one morning in early June and “Sam,” a man who has attended many of my classes over the years, approached me and said, “Bob, I have to ask you. How long can a losing streak last? I haven’t hit a royal flush since November.” For occasional players, a six- or seven-month royal-free streak would not be that unusual. But I’ve seen Sam in casinos dozens of times, so I assume it’s been several 40,000-hand cycles. Always painful. Always expensive.
Continue reading How Long Can It Last?
California‘s Democratic Party has officially taken sides in the sports-betting ballot race and effectively come down on the side of a tribal/racetrack-driven initiative, going on the record as opposing a rival measure backed by most of the big names in online wagering. This is not entirely surprising. The Dems are going with a traditional source of support (Indian Country) and against what is, mainly, a group of carpetbaggers with relatively political clout out West. To split hairs, the California Democrats are not endorsing the tribal initiative, staking out an official stance of neutrality. But when they line up against Big Gaming’s alternative, we know darn well where their sympathies lie.
Continue reading California Dems rebuff Big Gaming; Icahn irate; Mega-Jottings
Effective today, all casinos in Macao have closed, in governmental reaction to a spike in Covid-19 cases. “Only essential businesses like supermarkets, gas stations, and pharmacies will remain open.” In other words, just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse in Macao, they did. SJM‘s Grand Lisboa is the Covid hot spot, with 13 of the 71 newest cases being spotted in the pleasure palace. At the risk of sounding heartless, this latest turn of events exposes the danger of doing business at the sufferance of an authoritarian regime. Companies vulnerable to the effects of the shutdown include (in diminishing order) Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International. They may pass the pain on to their Macanese workers. When the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked if they would continue paying the idled—through no fault of their own—employees, all three firms clammed up.
Continue reading Macao is closed; Mixed signals from the Midwest
Since it has been outperforming the broader U.S. market for some time now, perhaps we should not be unduly concerned that Ohio casino revenues are down for three months in a row. Indeed, compared to go-go 2019, they’re still arguably overheated, up 17%. Besides, there was simply so much money that Americans could gamble and lose, and inflationary pressures in non-discretionary areas of the pocketbook cannot be denied. But don’t hit the panic button.
Casinos and racinos in the Buckeye State grossed $189 million last month, 4% lower than the previous June. The pecking order remains pretty much the same, with racino MGM Northfield Park easily out front with $23.5 million (+2%), followed most closely by Jack Cleveland ($22 million, -5%). Hollywood Columbus tumbled 9% but hung onto third place with $21 million, while Hard Rock Cincinnati continues to prosper from its new brand, up 5.5% to $20.5 million. Rounding out the casinos was Hollywood Toledo and its $18 million (-5.5%).
Continue reading Ohio shows fatigue; Macao seizes hotels; Abe assassinated
Although gambling revenues in Maryland decelerated somewhat from May, they were still 1% higher than last June and 14% more robust than 2019’s, for a total haul of $163 million. It was basically a two-horse race, with MGM National Harbor controlling 42% of market share to Maryland Live‘s 34.5%. MGM’s category killer grossed $68 million (up 7.5%) while Cordish Gaming‘s rival powerhouse brought in $56 million (down 4%). Horseshoe Baltimore was a distant third with $17 million but achieved a victory of sorts by being flat with last year. (Any month in which Horseshoe is not sliding downward is a good month.) Best of the rest was Ocean Downs with $8.5 million, despite being 3% off its feed, while Hollywood Perryville brought in $7.5 million, a 4% dip. Hardest hit, relatively speaking, was Rocky Gap Resort, down 7% but good for $5 million.
Continue reading Recovery slowing but still going; Singapore soars