We don’t know how it managed it but congratulations to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It finally realized how to market to those hitherto-elusive creatures known as “gamblers.” Casino revenue shot up 33%, winning $41 million from players, partly due to better-than-expected hold. Room rates ($273) and 88% also continued to be some of the best on the Strip … unless you’re a customer, that is. But Cosmo continues to be driven primarily by restaurants and bars ($75 million) and its first-quarter loss widened from a year ago, thanks to higher operating costs, and return on investment is a measly 2%. But hey, kudos to Deutsche Bank for finally getting the hang of this “casino” thing.
After making a few head-fakes, via SEC statements, to make it seem as though it wouldn’t pursue a Rosecroft Racino racino after all, Penn National Gaming slid in just under the deadline for applications. It joins 
the long-since-filed MGM Resorts International application. However, Penn’s chances just got a whole lot worse: A third, dark-horse entrant has joined the derby. Greenwood Racing is an aegis of Parx Casino, near Philadelphia. That’s the top-grossing casino in Pennsylvania, so when Greenwood throws down an $800 million offer for a casino-hotel in Fort Washington, it has to be taken pretty seriously. It would still take miracle for MGM’s National Harbor proposal, beloved of the local political establishment, to lose … especially since Penn has been indiscreet about its true, uningratiating motive being to protect the flanks of its West Virginia and Pennsylvania properties. But Greenwood’s unexpected appearance throws a most interesting monkey wrench into the works.
