You’re playing dollar Double Double Bonus with progressives on both the royal and aces with a kicker (AWAK). On the hands we’re going to talk about today, the only thing that matters are quads and full houses, so assume AWAK pays $2,200 and a full house pays $45. If you’re not familiar with the game, trips pay $15 and aces with the fifth card not being a 2, 3, or 4 pay $800.
I’ll start with the three hands in question, where suits don’t matter:
Caesars Entertainment is holding a fare sale across its non-Las Vegas properties, a possible signal that the stimulus-fueled recovery may be cooling (in economics, what goes up must come down). In Atlantic City you have your choice of such starting prices at $54/night at Harrah’s Resort, $59 at Tropicana Atlantic City and $64 at Caesars Atlantic City. Elsewhere in the Roman Empire the bargain destination is Tropicana Laughlin at $35/night. Surprisingly pricey is Harrah’s Cherokee at $169. Up there on the price ladder are Lumiere Place ($159), Isle Waterloo ($105) and Isle of Capri Boonville ($99). Bargain hunters have their choice of—ick!—Circus Circus Reno‘s $39 but we’d advise spending a bit more and staying down the street at Silver Legacy for $49. Harvey’s Lake Tahoe is wallet-friendly at $49, as is Harrah’s Gulf Coast at $75. With prices like those who needs Vegas, especially right now?
Continue reading Bargains galore at Caesars; Station savages Culinary; Mega-Jottings
Louisiana casino revenues continue to march upward, gaining 10% over 2019 in July. The statewide gross was $222 million. Business was especially lively in Baton Rouge, up 32%. That was propelled by L’Auberge Baton Rouge, vaulting 41% to $16 million. Hollywood Baton Rouge leapt 37% to $6 million but Belle of Baton Rouge sank further, down 30% to a measly $1.5 million. New Orleans was also jet-propelled, up 17%, led by Harrah’s New Orleans, up 26% to $26 million, while Boomtown New Orleans jumped 25% to $11 million. Only Treasure Chest was revenue-negative, down 4.5% to $8 million. Amelia Belle was flat at $3.5 million, while Fair Grounds racino climbed 9.5% to $4 million.
Lake Charles was easily tops in dollar volume ($80 million), with L’Auberge du Lac ($32 million) very slightly besting Golden Nugget Lake Charles ($31.5 million), jumping 29.5% versus the Nugget’s +12.5%. Delta Downs gained 9% to $16.5 million. Moving over to Shreveport/Bossier City, in the last month before Shreveport’s smoking ban, Margaritaville continues to lead with $18 million (+24%), followed by Horseshoe Bossier City‘s $15 million (-3%) and Eldorado Shreveport‘s $11 million (+14.5%). Also playing were Boomtown Bossier City ($4.5 million, +8%), Sam’s Town ($5.5 million, -15.5%—are the smokers fleeing already?) and Louisiana Downs ($4.5 million, +21%). Rural Evangeline Downs grossed $7.5 million, up 11%.
Continue reading Lake Charles leads Louisiana; Caesars welcomes super-spreaders
By Jeff Leatherock, guest contributor
CityCenter, the last and largest Las Vegas project by Las Vegas’ largest builder nears 15 years old. The concept probably started before 2006 and completion was a few years later. So, claiming 15 kinda fits in a lazy fashion.
Kirk Kerkorian was the most active and largest developer of Las Vegas casino properties in history. He liked to “go large”. His list of “largest” includes the International (currently Westgate) in 1969; the first MGM Grand (currently Bally’s) in 1973; the current MGM Grand in 1994, which were each the “largest hotel on earth” at the time of their construction. He then embarked on the “largest privately funded construction development in America” with “Project CityCenter” in the early 2000s. Kerkorian was in his 90s at the launch of CityCenter, so I think it is safe to say he never lacked for financial courage, vision or hope for the future.
CityCenter was planned for roughly 75 acres bounded by Las Vegas Boulevard on the east, I-15 on the west, Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino (now Park MGM) on the south, and parts of the Cosmopolitan, Jockey Club and Bellagio on the north.
Continue reading CC by KK at XV
Pennsylvania was late to the casino-recovery party but it’s finally arrived, up 1% in July over 2019 for a gross of $310 million, of which $223 million was won at the slots. The good news may be short-lived, in that Hollywood York opened on August 12, contributing to the saturation of casinos we are seeing in the Keystone State. Parx Casino was way out in front of everybody else, grossing $58.5 million for a 14.5% gain. Elsewhere in the Philadelphia market, Rivers Philadelphia regained the edge on Philadelphia Live, winning $23.5 million, an 8% decline from 2019 but much better than in recent months. The Cordish Gaming competitor slipped to $22 million but bested Harrah’s Philadelphia‘s $17 million (-15%) while Valley Forge Resort Casino dipped 2% to $11.5 million.
In the Pittsburgh area, Pittsburgh Live garnered $10 million while Rivers Pittsburgh gained a percentage point to $33 million but The Meadows slid 10.5% to $18 million. Elsewhere, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs was up 7% to $20.5 million, Wind Creek Bethlehem slipped 6% but posted an impressive $42.5 million and Mount Airy netted $20 million in a 21% leap. Presque Isle Downs gained 7% to $12 million, Hollywood Penn National dipped 4.5% to $19.5 million and luckless Lady Luck Nemacolin fell 22% to $2.5 million.
Continue reading Competitive vitality in Pennsylvania; The politics of casinos[Colin Jones Season 1 will resume next time!]
Previously, we asked the question, “What is an AP?” As an example, I threw out for debate the machine player who learns a few fun facts on Twitter and then wanders around the casino picking up money as a button-pushing zombie. As kids, maybe as early as age 5, my brother and I would look in the coin returns of vending machines and pinball machines, and underneath the washers at the laundromat (those coins get yucky, no TITO!). Doesn’t every kid do that? I wouldn’t call that activity AP, and isn’t that exactly what some machine players are doing today?
Continue reading What is an AP?—Part II
It took a while but the Boardwalk is finally even with 2019 numbers. July saw a gambling gross of $277 million, flat with two years ago. Slot win was up 6% on 2% more coin-in but tables declined 14% on only 3% less wagering. Luck was not with the house. That was especially true of Borgata ($64 million), which absorbed a body blow in the form of a 21% decline, driven by a near-cataclysmic 46% plunge in table win on 27% less play. Tighter hold held Borgata slots to only a 6% dip despite 14% less coin-in. The Caesars Entertainment Cerberus was 1% up, with table win 4% higher on 7% greater wagering, while slots were flat (and much tighter) with coin-in down 2%. Individually, Caesars Atlantic City grossed $26 million, a 4.5% gain, Harrah’s Resort slipped 2% to $29 million and Tropicana Atlantic City gained 2% to $29.5 million.
Bally’s Atlantic City was down 8.5% to $16 million and Golden Nugget fell 20% to $15.5 million. At the other end of the spectrum, Ocean Casino Resort shot up 58% to $30 million and Hard Rock Atlantic City solidified its hold on second place with $48 million (+23%). Also revenue-positive was Resorts Atlantic City, up 5.5% to $18.5 million.
Continue reading Atlantic City catches up; MGM confronts Covid; AAA salutes CircaAccording to Wikipedia, “The Golden Rule is the principle of treating others as one wants to be treated. It is a maxim that is found in most religions and cultures. It can be considered an ethic of reciprocity in some religions, although different religions treat it differently.”
I’m not here to debate religion. Consider, however, the following:
In this episode of my N-part series looking at Colin Jones’s book, The 21st-Century Card Counter, I’m just going to briefly comment on various phrases and sentences that caught my eye. This is like the “Mail Bag” episodes of Gambling with an Edge, or the Potpourri category on Jeopardy.
[p. 26] “I’m not going to argue whether people should or should not gamble for entertainment (though it’s my opinion that gambling is a very high-risk low-reward form of it).” From spending so much time in locals casinos, I’d say that the percentage of gamblers who are problem gamblers—by virtually any definition of the term—is much, much higher than the industry would admit. As a resort destination, Vegas is a different animal. But locals casinos are built on degenerate gambling. That said, I think there is a role for recreational gambling, and CJ underestimates how enjoyable it is for some. CJ is a bit jaded, because blackjack (and baccarat) are not inherently fun games (you wouldn’t play them for no money), and because card counting as a living takes the fun out of the game! One of my old friends came to Vegas with me, and afterwards said, “You’ve ruined Las Vegas for me,” because he could never again see the experience in the carefree, oblivious way that gamblers do. I turned it into work.
Continue reading Colin Jones (S1 E8): Mail Bag
That in essence is the question posed today by Global Gaming Business, in an excellent article by Marjorie Preston. And if GGB is querying the viability of the Nipponese casino market you know things are bad. Even normally bullish Brendan Bussman tempers his optimism with caution as regards the 30% tax on casino revenues, saying “any time you have a tax rate at that level across the board on slots and tables, it’s difficult for any operator to make the numbers make sense. You could say the same thing about Chicago, which is a 40 percent effective tax rate. That’s why everybody’s pulled out of Chicago.”
Already the heavyweights are retreating. Sample verdicts include those of Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox who said he’d withdraw “if it doesn’t make financial sense.” And it didn’t. Ditto Las Vegas Sands CEO Rob Goldstein: “We’re used to writing big checks, but all that money on one [megaresort] makes you stop, pinch yourself and ask if you can get the returns your shareholders deserve.” The only megawatt operator who’s favored to cinch a spot is MGM Resorts International, which will have to invest $9 billion for the privilege. Elsewhere, cities have chosen to go with obscure Canadian private equity firm Clairvest (?!?!?) and Casinos Austria, which doesn’t currently run anything remotely on the scale the Japanese government wants. Sure, Melco Resorts & Entertainment and Genting Group still have a shot at Yokohama but …
Continue reading Has Japan jumped the shark?