With a little help from one extra weekend day, Nevada gross gaming revenues shot upward 12% statewide in November and 23% on the Strip. Baccarat players lost their shirts, with the house winning 94% more than the previous year. Less play and looser hold meant less win for the house at slots (-4%) but non-baccarat table win rose 34%. However, what was sauce for the Strip was not so for outlying jurisdictions. Downtown Vegas was off by a point, Laughlin fell 14%, but Reno was up 17% and the Carson Valley area rose 7%. Locals were keeping their purses tight: The Boulder Strip dropped 9% and North Las Vegas fell 14%. Looking ahead, room rates on the Strip are estimated to be 14% higher in the first quarter of next year.
If so, we end 2013 with an equivocal outlook for the locals and border jurisdictions, but clear recovery on the Strip. We’ll take that.
It’s Year Four of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s five-year plan for Atlantic City and already the dyspeptic politico is losing patience. He’s already talking about “considering alternatives,” which would include racinos and a Meadowlands casino, barring “significant results” from the Boardwalk. So, no pressure. Closures of Trump Plaza, the Golden Nugget and the Showboat are being bruited about, and a second Revel Resort bankruptcy looms. It’s also noted that Christie’s not taking the effects of Hurricane Sandy into account. That’s a fair accusation, as the governor suddenly seems keen to be on the winning side, regardless of which one it is.
No surprise here. In a relatively predictable development, Wynn Resorts was found suitable to operate in Massachusetts. Of all the major contenders, Wynn had the fewest question marks attached. “On the whole, it is clear … that the applicant has created a dynamic within its company that promotes strict regulatory compliance,” proclaimed the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Now Wynn Resorts can get down to the business of clobbering Suffolk Downs in the all-important “wow factor” contest.
Gather ye rosebuds while yet ye may at Maryland Live and Charles Town Races, because MGM Resorts International is coming for a big chunk of your action. Both are likely to suffer at the lion’s paws but, due to National Harbor being on the east side of the capitol city, Maryland Live may have the harder time of it. That’s not much of a consolation prize for Penn National Gaming but it’s something.
MGM will make as much money as the U. S. Mint at National Harbor. They will make more if they get some decent public transportation to the place. It is already one of the worst perpetual traffic jams in the DC region, before the casino.
Maryland Live should be more worried about Baltimore. National Harbor will be filled with Virginians and conventioneers for the most part. The Horseshoe is Maryland Live’s biggest competition.