{"id":32176,"date":"2023-01-10T08:52:46","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T16:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=32176"},"modified":"2023-09-26T14:55:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T22:55:10","slug":"new-f-blue-ceo-illinois-mostly-upbeat-missouri-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/blog\/new-f-blue-ceo-illinois-mostly-upbeat-missouri-not\/","title":{"rendered":"New F-blue CEO; Illinois mostly upbeat, Missouri not"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Who in the world is Brett Mufson<\/strong>? Well, he’s the new president and CEO of Fontainebleau Las Vegas<\/strong>. Other than that, Jeffrey Soffer<\/strong>‘s company ain’t tellin’ much<\/a>. We are informed that “Mufson\u2019s instrumental leadership helped steer the company\u2019s re-acquisition of the property along with the reinvigoration of Soffer\u2019s original strategic vision for Fontainebleau\u2019s brand and Fontainebleau Las Vegas.” Yes, but how does that qualify Mufson to steer the Las Vegas Strip<\/strong>‘s most expensive megaresort, particularly in such a cutthroat market? That question is begged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, Mufson will have a well-qualified set<\/a> of subordinates to help him navigate the Sin City waters. They include COO Colleen Birch<\/strong>, a 13-year veteran of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vega<\/strong>s, and former Cosmo human resources guru Daniel Espino<\/strong> as “chief people officer.” Fontainebleau Development<\/strong> paper-pusher Stephen Singer<\/strong> comes over as CFO, his second stint with F-blue. Continuing its boa-constrictor stranglehold on Strip real estate, Vici Properties<\/strong> has kicked in $350 million in the form of a “loan”<\/a> that we strongly suspect is secured by the underlying acreage. \u201cWe believe the addition of the property will contribute to the increased vitality of the north end of the Las Vegas Strip,\u201d Vici CFO David Kieske<\/strong> (who doesn’t answer media e-mails) enthused.\u00a0Look for F-blue to trade Vici the dirt under the resort in return for loan forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vici was on the map again yesterday, announcing its purchase of the real estate<\/a> of four Alberta<\/strong> casinos operated by Pure Canadian Gaming Corp<\/strong>. The deal cost Vici $201 million. It gives Vici footholds in Edmonton<\/strong>, Calgary<\/strong>, Yellowhead<\/strong> and that gambling hotbed, Lethbridge<\/strong> (450 slots, 24 table games). Pure Canadian will rent the casinos from Vici for $22 million a year. The company is now Vici’s sixth casino-operating vassal, joining the likes of MGM Resorts International<\/strong>, Caesars Entertainment<\/strong>, Hard Rock International<\/strong>, the Eastern Band of Cherokee<\/strong> and colossus Jack Entertainment<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canadian foray is, by those standards, small potatoes. The biggest Pure property is 72,000-square-foot Pure Edmonton<\/strong>, with its 875 slots and 45 tables. Pure Canadian doesn’t even own its slots, which are the province of the Alberta Gaming & Liquor Commission<\/strong>, which takes a 70% rake of the winnings. Pure Canadian has to make its nut largely on the strength of table play and amenities\u2014but that’s not Vici’s worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Harrah’s Metropolis<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Illinois<\/strong> casinos ticked up 4% last month, achieving $114.5 million in revenue. A 6% increase in visitation offset a 1.5% drop in consumer spending per visit. The vast preponderance of largesse was hauled in at Rivers Des Plaines<\/strong>, jumping 10% to $47 million. The Bally’s Corp<\/strong>. people are taking on a real juggernaut here with their Chicago<\/strong> megaresort and our money is on Churchill Downs<\/strong> to prevail ultimately. But we digress. Healthy growth was also seen at Bally’s Quad Cities<\/strong>, vaulting 16% to $5 million. Also on the upswing is Hard Rock Rockford<\/strong>, leaping 15% to $5 million. Also revenue-positive were Par-A-Dice<\/strong> (+1.5%, $5 million), Harrah’s Metropolis<\/strong> (+6%, $5 million) and DraftKings Casino Queen<\/strong> (+7.5%, $6 million). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Losers were Argosy Belle<\/strong> (-10.5%, $2 million), Hollywood Joliet<\/strong> (-1.5%, $7 million), Harrah’s Joliet<\/strong> (in third place with $10.5 million, -5%), Hollywood Aurora<\/strong> ($8 million, -8%) and Grand Victoria<\/strong> (-1%, second with $13 million). Given the emaciated tranche garnered by the two Penn Entertainment<\/strong> properties in the northern tier, is spending hundreds of millions to build two new casinos throwing good money after bad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Casino revenues in Missouri<\/strong> dipped 3.5% to $158 million, as visitation dropped comparably, although spend-per-visitor was flat with December 2021. Despite an 8% declivity, Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong> easily led the Show-Me State with $25 million. Penn’s Hollywood St. Louis<\/strong> was flat at $20 million and its River City <\/strong>dropped 5% to $21 million. That left Horseshoe St. Louis <\/strong>with $13 million but a 4% bump in revenue, as the rebranding continues to accrete business. Across the state, Ameristar Kansas Cit<\/strong>y (shown<\/em>) held steady at $17 million, while Bally’s Kansas City<\/strong> grew 4.5% to $11 million. Harrah’s North Kansas City<\/strong> was flat at $15 million and Argosy Riverside<\/strong> tumbled 9.5% to $13 million. To the south, Isle of Capri Boonville<\/strong> was firm at $7.5 million, Century Cape Girardeau<\/strong> slid 13% to $5.5 million and construction-disrupted Century Caruthersville<\/strong> fell 20% to $3 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beloved gridiron icon Rob Gronkowski<\/strong> will attempt a field goal<\/a> as part of a FanDuel<\/strong> commercial during the Super Bowl<\/strong>. Our thoughts? Never bet against Gronk. As for as a FanDuel promo stunt happening on hallowed NFL<\/strong> turf, well, the league has made its bed with sports betting and now Roger Goodell<\/strong> must lie in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jottings<\/em><\/strong>: Gambling in Macao<\/strong> is off to a strong start this year, with $261 million lost<\/a> by players in the first eight days of the month. Industry analysts hope this bodes well for Chinese New Year business … Big Gaming is “adequately” prepared for any economic downturn this year, says Fitch Ratings<\/strong>. It likes the manufacturers<\/a> and most operators, save for Bally’s Corp<\/strong>. and Macao-facing Las Vegas Sands<\/strong> … Will the Duke of Sussex<\/strong> be Las Vegas<\/strong>‘ new celebrity pitchman? Evidently not<\/a>. In his memoir, Spare<\/em>, Prince Harry<\/strong> recalls his naked Wynncore<\/strong> escapade as so shameful it was difficult “to draw a clean breath” … Exacta Systems<\/strong>, newly acquired by Churchill Downs<\/strong>, has inked a pact with Wyoming Downs<\/strong>. It will be the provider of third-party ‘historical horse racing’ machines to all 14 of Wyoming Downs’ OTB parlors … It’s Wynncore over Accor<\/strong>, as Wynn Resorts<\/strong> has lured chef Christopher Lee<\/strong> from the hotel chain to be its culinary vice president. Lee’s new remit will be to oversee 32 restaurants and bars<\/a>, plus banquet and catering portfolios … Boutique property Seminole Casino Brighton<\/strong> is now underway<\/a> in Florida<\/strong>. When completed, the property will offer 623 slots, 18 table games and 100 hotel rooms. The casino is the ultimate outgrowth of a tiny, eight-employee bingo hall that shared space with a hardware store and beauty parlor, back in the Jimmy Carter<\/strong> administration (1979) … In case you missed it, three allied North Dakota<\/strong> tribes bought 13 acres of Las Vegas Strip<\/strong> acreage for a dirt-cheap $93 million. Why so little<\/a>? It’s the site of the Mandalay Bay Massacre<\/strong>. (Is this like building on an Indian burial ground?) MGM Resorts International<\/strong> still plans to erect a memorial to the victims of gun violence on its remaining two acres of the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote of the Day<\/em><\/strong>: “[R]egulatory bodies, like the people who comprise them, have a marked life cycle. In youth they are vigorous, aggressive, evangelistic, and even intolerant. Later they mellow, and in old age\u2014after a matter of ten or fifteen years\u2014they become, with some exceptions, either an arm of the industry they are regulating or senile.”\u2014John Kenneth Galbraith<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who in the world is Brett Mufson? Well, he’s the new president and CEO of Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Other than that, Jeffrey Soffer‘s company ain’t tellin’ much. We are informed that “Mufson\u2019s instrumental leadership helped steer the company\u2019s re-acquisition of the property along with the reinvigoration of Soffer\u2019s original strategic vision for Fontainebleau\u2019s brand and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83928,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1728],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}