Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on December 20, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

If at first you don’t succeed … sue; Academy Awards odds posted

It’s a tried and true adage of American life that if you can’t get what you want fair and square, take it to court. Case in point: Full House Resorts. Having lost out on the Indiana Gaming Commission‘s selection of a casino developer for Terre Haute, Full House is siccing its lawyers on the IGC, charging it with lawbreaking. And the IGC may have handed Full House a valid case by adjourning in mid-meeting to hold an executive session, something Indiana open-meeting laws expressly forbid. The gist of that secret conclave may never be known but Full House’s proposal went from contender to zero in the interim. Full House’s implication—the fix was in.

Posted on December 18, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Chicago dog-and-pony show; Raiders get punted by Covid

All three developers jockeying for a Chicago casino trotted out their proposals Thursday “replete with soaring promises of economic jolts, job creation and jackpots for the city’s future casino tax revenue coffers, which are earmarked for its depleted police and firefighter pension funds.” Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) tried to wax cautious about the glowing promises, which included “an Eiffel Tower for Chicago” but hype was the order of the day-long session. Said Lightfoot afterward, “They look beautiful and they’re saying a lot of things that really, I think, speak to our values, but as you all know, the devil’s in the details and my financial team is going to do a deep scrub to make sure that we understand: Are these projects really viable?”

In an ill-concealed dig at Bally’s Corp. (an acquirer rather than a developer), Neil Bluhm jabbed, “Chicago needs an experienced developer with a steady hand. This is not the time or project for on-the-job training.” The Windy City needs “an experienced team who has done developments like this—exactly like this—before.” Bally’s execs didn’t let that pass. “Yes, we have built casinos from the ground up,” replied Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim testily. Alluding to Rivers Casino Des Plaines, they said they (unlike Bluhm) were free of conflicts of interest in the market. Regardless of which of its two proposals is chosen, Bally’s promised 2,000 permanent jobs and 7,500 construction ones. However, its South Side pitch ran into immediate opposition from Alderwoman Sophia King. Kim promised to be tractable to King’s concerns.

Posted on December 17, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Atlantic City stutters; Shocker in New Orleans; Palms changes hands today

Casinos in Atlantic City grossed $207 million last month, an 8% declivity from 2019, as players tightened their purse strings. Overall, slot revenues were down 1% on a commensurately lower amount of coin-in. The house played unluckily at the tables, falling 22% on 16% less wagering. For Borgata ($48 million) the numbers were a catastrophic 47% plunge at the tables on 30% less betting and looser hold, compounded by 6% less slot win on 6% less coin-in for a total 18% decline. The Caesars Entertainment threesome tumbled 26%, driven by terrible table win (-47% on 33% less betting) and poor slot performance (-17% on 13% less coin-in). Individually, Caesars Atlantic City plummeted 42.5% to $16 million, Harrah’s Resort slipped 12% to $22.5 million and Tropicana Atlantic City slid 21% to $19 million.

Only two casinos were revenue-positive. Hard Rock Atlantic City skyrocketed 59% to $37 million and Ocean Resort soared 46% to $28.5 million. New-look Bally’s Atlantic City was still down 17% to $11 million, Resorts Atlantic City declined 12.5% to $12 million and Golden Nugget grossed $12 million, a 30% falloff.

Posted on December 16, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

Slot routes seek legitimacy; FanDuel romps in Michigan

Black-market operators of slot routes in Missouri could achieve legitimacy next year—with the help of two out-of-state providers. Illinois‘ leading slot-route purveyors, J&J Ventures and Accel Entertainment, bitter rivals in the Land of Lincoln have put aside their differences to join forces in a PAC. Its goal is “to funnel campaign contributions to lawmakers who have been unable to agree on a way to legalize Missouri’s current unregulated marketplace.” At least they’re not being coy about it. The entity is called Mo Coalition for Video Lottery PAC. J&J is an old hand at Missouri politics, being a frequent backer of Gov. Mike Parson (R). It’s also been financing the aspirations of other Show-Me State politicians.

Posted on December 15, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Everybody wins in Massachusetts; Makeover for The Mirage

Massachusetts casinos bagged $88 million last month, a 12% boost over 2019. Encore Boston Harbor, predictably, was way, way out in front with $55 million, up 16.5%. Win was fairly even divided between slots ($30 million) and tables ($25 million), in a vindication of Wynn Resorts‘ business plan for the market. Plainridge Park was flat with $11 and MGM Springfield had a good month, grossing $22 million and up 9%. Casino win was down 8.5% from October but we’re discounting that due both to “seasonality” and one fewer weekend when compared to two years ago.

Posted on December 14, 2021September 18, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 10 Comments

Changes in NCL Cruises — Part I of II

Author’s Note: The blog for this week and next will be a trip report about a cruise my wife and I took aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines Bliss from Los Angeles to the Mexican Riviera between November 28 and December 5. There were Covid protocols in place, and to my knowledge, no outbreaks on board. At approximately the same time, on the NCL Breakaway (a ship of similar size and configuration), sailing south from New Orleans, at least 10 people contracted Covid — and the ship returned straightaway to New Orleans. That story is still breaking and you may look it up should you like.

In my story, Bonnie and I had a pleasant and safe trip — and returned home to negative Covid tests. Had we been on the other ship, my conclusions would undoubtedly have been different.

Posted on December 14, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 4 Comments

Mirage sold; Big win for Las Vegas; Bluhm, Reinsdorf clash in Chicago

In a billion-dollar coup, MGM Resorts International has sold the operations of The Mirage to Hard Rock International, a huge markup on Steve Wynn‘s 1989 creation—and Hard Rock isn’t even getting the underlying land! All this for 17X EBITDA, an exponential price boost for a Las Vegas Strip asset. VitalVegas was the first to report that the Seminole Tribe was getting a look-see at The Mirage a couple of weeks ago and negotiations must have quickly started in earnest. While Mohegan Gaming Entertainment is struggling over at Virgin Las Vegas, Hard Rock—pretty iconic in itself—gains one of the most iconic properties on the Strip, in a killer location and with 32 years of history-making cachet. MGM figures to net $815 million on the sale while Hard Rock inherits a master lease valued at $90 million per year. (The Mirage did $154 million in cash flow in 2019.) MGM CFO Jonathan Halkyard said MGM’s payday would go toward “opportunities that will enhance the customer experience at our other locations in Las Vegas.” (Maybe that proposed hotel tower in front of Excalibur … please.)

Posted on December 13, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

MGM enjoys reversal of fate; From the police blotter; Raiders sunk

How the wheel of fortune has turned for MGM Resorts International. Where Macao was once the grand prize among its casino trophies, it is now an albatross around the company’s neck, provoking a guarded outlook from Fitch Ratings. But MGM’s Las Vegas and regional casinos made up for that and more. Fitch was not only impressed by MGM’s liquidity both in terms of cash in hand and credit lines, it also said U.S. casinos had “essentially fully recovered” and were helping MGM retire debt. “The strong performance in Las Vegas, both slots and table games, is offsetting lingering weakness from the international and convention segments, although the latter will come back more in earnest in 2022,” Fitch boffins wrote.

MGM’s regional properties will outdo 2019 both this year and the next, Fitch predicted, and Las Vegas should be fully recovered by 2023 (visitation still lags 2019 levels), a forecast “which may prove conservative, given current trends domestically.” The crystal ball was cloudier vis-a-vis Macao, both due to Covid-19 policies and the uncertainty of the concession-review process. Of the former, Fitch’s rating “reflects the potential for negative rating actions should there be signs that the recovery in visitation to Macau, particularly from Mainland China, and resultant gaming revenues are not materializing.”

Posted on December 12, 2021September 18, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Rejected!

It’s been a rough winter for Peninsula Pacific. First it narrowly lost a plebiscite in Richmond, Virginia. Then, on Saturday, it got body-slammed by voters in Louisiana‘s St. Tammany Parish, who turned out in droves to vote down a proposed casino in a landslide, with 63% balloting “nay.” Peninsula Pacific, owner of the Diamond Jacks license from Shreveport, had made a very “george” offer, including a $352 million casino and lots of upfront money for the community. But they ill-judged the dynamics of the Slidell area, where the mayor and leading local officials wanted nothing to do with Peninsula Pacific.

One person who saw this coming a mile off was Full House Resorts CEO Dan Lee, he of the Silver Slipper in Biloxi: “Full House-commissioned polling, he said, showed Diamond Jacks losing ‘by a very wide margin.’ He said the Slidell area is very conservative and heavily Republican, filled with people who had fled New Orleans ‘to get away from things like casinos.'” The real winner in all this is not Full House, however, but Churchill Downs, whose Fair Grounds track is the nearest gaming facility to Slidell. They just dodged a bullet.

Posted on December 10, 2021September 18, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Hard Rock, Caesars grapple; Trouble at Topgolf LV

There’s a battle royal in Indiana between Hard Rock Gary and Horseshoe Hammond. But before we get to that, let it be noted that—despite one less weekend than 2019—casino revenues were up 9.5% to $195 million. The two main combatants were just incrementally apart, with Hard Rock making $31 million versus Horseshoe Hammond’s $30.5 million (-4%). Third-place Ameristar East Chicago was well behind at $18 million, down 2%. The smallness of the declines supports the viewpoint of those who argued that the arrival of Hard Rock would grow business in the northern tier, not dilute it. Only Blue Chip (above) suffered, down 15% to $11 million. Indiana Grand racino continued to thrive with $24 million, up 3%, while Harrah’s Hoosier Downs galloped 11.5% faster to $20 million.

In the southern tier, Bally’s Evansville was flat at $12.5 million despite the new branding, while Caesars Southern Indiana remained a player favorite, grossing $18 million for a 6.5% gain. Belterra Resort slipped 7% to $7.5 million and little Rising Star booked $3 million, a 4% dip. French Lick Resort took a drubbing, off 23% to $6 million but Hollywood Lawrenceburg slipped only 2% to $14 million.

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