Nowhere in The 21st-Century Card Counter did I see the percentage of BJA members that are women, but I’m quite curious. I suspect the figure is quite low, as it is even in some other fields that do not involve a meaningful physical component—such as chess or computer science. I remember scanning the auditorium for the first lecture of CS51 (CS150 in those days), and seeing maybe three women out of 100-200 students.
Continue reading Colin Jones (S2 E6): The Woman at the Card TableSeminoles to feds: “F*** off”; Strip casinos drive down employment
In a big “up yours” to the federal judiciary, the Seminole Tribe—after momentarily pausing—has resumed taking sports bets and is effectively daring the courts to do something about it. If that weren’t nervy enough, the Seminoles have asked Judge Dabney Friedrich for a stay of her own order shutting down the new compact with the state of Florida. Tribal government has some strange ideas about how to make friends and influence people. We don’t think Judge Friedrich is going to be amused by this one-finger salute from the Seminoles and it makes any plea for clemency that much more implausible. By showing themselves to be bad actors, how do the Seminoles argue before the court that they deserve a reprieve while the judge’s ruling is appealed, a process that is expected to take six months and is not expected to be successful? It all comes down to buying time for more sports betting, period, but Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola has a funny way of going about it.
Continue reading Seminoles to feds: “F*** off”; Strip casinos drive down employmentA Trip to New Orleans
This year, Caesars Entertainment merged with Eldorado. I have Seven Stars status at Caesars and haven’t played at any Eldorado property for several years.
Because of the pandemic, I played not at all at Caesars in 2020. My Seven Stars status was extended to January 1, 2022, and any Seven Stars unused benefits that would usually expire in 2020 could be used in 2021. This was very generous of Caesars/Eldorado.
Continue reading A Trip to New OrleansSeminole compact nixed: Biden, DeSantis, Seminoles all lose
Floridians, we hope you enjoyed sports betting for all of the three weeks in which it was legal in the Sunshine State. Why? Because last night a federal judge struck down the Seminole Tribe‘s new compact with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Basically, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland screwed up and approved a compact that violates the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. (Still unresolved is the state constitutionality of the compact, which is dubious at best.) District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich threw out the Biden administration’s daffy interpretation that gambling in cyberspace is happening on “tribal lands” so long as that’s where the servers are located, a line of reasoning the court dismissed as “fiction.”
Wrote Friedrich, “over a dozen provisions in IGRA regulate gaming on ‘Indian lands,’ and none regulate gaming in another location. Indeed, if there were any doubt on the issue, the Supreme Court has emphasized that ‘[e]verything—literally everything—in IGRA affords tools … to regulate gaming on Indian lands, and nowhere else.’” Chastising Haaland, the judge continued, “The Secretary must reject compacts that violate IGRA’s terms.” As gaming law expert Daniel Wallach said, “The avalanche of legal authority was on the side of invalidating online sports betting. She recognized the obvious—that a customer located in Jacksonville or Key West or Pensacola is not on Indian land when they initiate the wager.” He added that “the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe were operating in a state of delusion.” (You can place tribal sports bets in Michigan, Arizona and Connecticut … but only if you’re on Native American land at the time.)
Continue reading Seminole compact nixed: Biden, DeSantis, Seminoles all loseChicago reveals all; Rumblings from Macao; Riot in Vegas
The City of Chicago unveiled the applications for its casino license late Friday, effectively burying it at the end of a news cycle, in another triumph for Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) and her administration. The five submissions “are in line with our vision to develop a world-class experience in Chicago that will drive significant economic growth and employment opportunities for our communities,” said Lightfoot. The pitches break down alphabetically as follows:
Bally’s Corp. #1: To be sited at the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center, “an economic sleeping giant,” this $1.8 billion, two-phase project would include 100 hotel suites, 20,000 square feet of expo space, three restaurants—curated by Paul Kahan and Erick Williams—and rooftop “green space.” The casino would feature 95 table games and 2,700 slots. A “Best of Chicago” theme is planned. In a dig at its rivals, Bally’s wrote, “As our flagship property, Bally’s Chicago has no conflicting interest in the Chicago market. We don’t operate, own or partially own casino properties located elsewhere within the Chicagoland market. Simply put, Bally’s is conflict-free.” Even so, the company noted that it is already licensed in the Prairie State. Bally’s predicts a 20% ROI on the project (and if it doesn’t reach it, won’t build Phase II), which will have 25% Black and Latino ownership. This plan really needs to pencil out economically, as most of the amenities are in the second stage.
Big month for MGM in Michigan; Las Vegas, city of stiffs
Cumulative Internet gambling and sports betting revenues racked up $134 million last month, the vast majority going to i-gaming, some $110 million. Sports books essentially gave away the store, with 81% of revenues going right back out the door in promotions (and this was a decrease from September). BetMGM dominated i-gaming with $41.5 million, followed by DraftKings ($20 million), FanDuel ($17.5 million), BetRivers ($7 million), Golden Nugget Online ($5 million) and Barstool Sports ($4.5 million). There are quite a few other operators in the Wolverine State but their grosses rarely add up to beans. As for sports betting, handle was an impressive $463 million but erstwhile favorite son BetMGM was only third with 22% market share, lagging FanDuel (27%) and DraftKings (26%). Fighting for scraps were Barstool (9%) and Caesars Sportsbook (8%), leaving precious little for anybody else.
When the bets were paid off, it was a decisive win for FanDuel, which netted $10 million to BetMGM’s $7.5 million and DraftKings’ $3 million. Caesars was the only other operator to break the $1 million threshold. Among those making little or nothing (and perhaps overdue to reconsider their Michigan presence) were Golden Nugget, BetRivers, Parx, Four Winds and WynnBet.
Continue reading Big month for MGM in Michigan; Las Vegas, city of stiffsAtlantic City still booming; Churchill Downs wins in Terre Haute
It was another bonanza month for the Boardwalk, as casinos grossed $237.5 million in October, 17% above 2019. Slot win was up 22% on 19% more coin-in and tables won 6% on 9% higher wagering and despite lower hold. Borgata wasn’t so lucky at the tables, being down 9% yet 32% greater slot win propelled the megaresort to a 20% higher tally of $62 million, by far the highest in Atlantic City. A distant second was Hard Rock Atlantic City‘s $37.5 million, despite a 53% gain. Ocean Casino Resort accelerated 63.5% to firmly grasp third place with $30 million. The Cerberus that is Caesars Entertainment dipped 2% overall, as table win slipped 6% and slots edged 1% lower. Harrah’s Resort was 1% up, leading the CZR pack with $24 million, followed by $24.5 million, followed by Tropicana Atlantic City (-3.5%) and Caesars Atlantic City (-2.5%) with $21 million each. Resorts Atlantic City made an impressive, 20.5% gain to $14.5 million, while Bally’s Atlantic City grossed $12.5 million but slid 4.5%. That left Golden Nugget, down 3.5% to $14 million.
Continue reading Atlantic City still booming; Churchill Downs wins in Terre HauteIs This a Good Idea?
This incident happened in 1999 or 2000. I don’t think I’ve written about it before.
The video poker world in Las Vegas was much different then. Casinos had been giving away money right and left to knowledgeable video poker players for at least five years, and many of us were becoming financially very well off. Oh, for the good old days!
Continue reading Is This a Good Idea?Atlantic City: Does it pay to improve?; Bicycle Casino’s flat tire
New Jersey giveth, New Jersey taketh away. The priority of the Lege’s lame-duck session will not be ending smoking in Atlantic City casinos but something much nearer and dearer to casino executives’ hearts: Revising the PILOT (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) program. This is the brainchild of outgoing state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), prompting one wag to comment, “Perhaps he hopes to get a job at a casino so he can have a third pension.” The big, juicy incentive to get Big Gaming to go along is the exemption of sports betting and i-gaming from PILOT revenue calculations, a big gimme.
The casinos’ compliance will be needed in some cases because their PILOT fees will be going way up, usually if they have been engaged in capex reinvestment. We frown upon this because it creates a fiscal disincentive to improve one’s property (slumlords like Donald Trump, in his Boardwalk days, would have loved it). For instance, Borgata would slide down from $29 million due this year to $23 million in 2025. By contrast, Hard Rock Atlantic City would be walloped with a 100% increase from $8 million to $16 million.
Continue reading Atlantic City: Does it pay to improve?; Bicycle Casino’s flat tireEncore owns Massachusetts; Online slot players hosed
Massachusetts gaming revenue accelerated to $96 million last month, 23% higher than 2019. Encore Boston Harbor vaulted 37% to $63 million—yes, two-thirds of the statewide gross and well above Deutsche Bank‘s forecast of $55 million. Despite Wynn Resorts‘ dominance, Plainridge Park managed to add 4.5% to its 2019 numbers, grossing $12 million (Deutsche Bank was right on the money with that one). MGM Springfield didn’t exactly struggle but it was only 1% up, winning $21.5 million. Back when the Bay State was initially in play, Wynn sussed out Boston as a real gold mine and has been triumphantly ratified.
American Gaming Systems has been all over the news lately and not in a good way. 15 players are lodging complaints against the online-slot maker. What did they do wrong? Basically, they made the mistake of beating the AGS house. The latter isn’t paying, chalking up player victories to ‘a bug’ in the system, that old saw. This is the kind of thing that gives Internet gambling a black eye and AGS should definitely be investigated further than it has. In one case, player Lisa Piluso won $100,000, was offered $280 and later had that upped to $1,000, presumably AGS’ idea of being george. To us, it doesn’t matter a fig whether the AGS software was corrupted (how very confidence-inspiring) or not. Players expect a game to be on the square and should get one that is.
Continue reading Encore owns Massachusetts; Online slot players hosed