May’s gambling grosses are in from the Boardwalk and Atlantic City is up 2.5% since last year — 11% if Trump Taj Mahal is subtracted from 
the comparison. Terrestrial casinos pulled in $208 million, while Internet gambling grossed a further $21 million (up 27%). Golden Nugget continues to dominate the Internet sphere, holding 28% of market share, while the rest is fairly evenly divided between its rivals. Borgata grossed a healthy $60.5 million (up 12%). Slot winnings were flat, despite higher handle but Borgata cleaned up at the tables, winning 42% more on 3% less wagering.
The Caesars Entertainment trio was up, on the strength of a powerful performance by Caesars Atlantic City, gaining 24.5% to $29.5 million. Bally’s ($18 million) was flat, as was Harrah’s Resort ($29.5 million). Resorts Atlantic City rose 10% to $15 million, Tropicana Atlantic City was prospering, up 21% to $29 million, and Golden Nugget gained 5% for a $19 million, Citywide, table games were a pillar of strength, up 19%, more than making up for an anemic (-3.5%) month at the slots.
* We don’t cover the Detroit market much because, frankly, not much happens in it. However, JP Morgan has initiated coverage of Detroit, so there will probably be a greater number of dispatches from that front. Casinos in Motown grossed $120 million last month and, although it was out front with $50.5 million, MGM Grand Detroit was off its feed, down 3%. MotorCity Casino grossed $41 million for a 4% gain and Dan Gilbert‘s Greektown Casino also rose 4% for a $29 million finish.
* How expensive is Wynn Boston Harbor? Try $2 million a day, according to company sources. Management is so confident that it has set the opening right down to the minute: 8 p.m. on June 24, 2019. (I 
don’t know if the date holds significance for Steve Wynn or if he merely published it to discourage lallygagging.) The casino’s shape is already discernible, although the parking garage is currently the furthest along of the property’s structures. The design — virtually identical to Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Macau — may not blaze any new trails for Wynn Resorts but the excitement of seeing it take shape is infectious.
* One Wynn prophecy that never came true was that we would see the “unbundling” of Las Vegas during the Great Recession. Instead, Phil Ruffin bought Treasure Island and That Was It. To this day, the industry continues to contract, giving us journalists less to write about. 
Cannery Casino Resorts and Aliante Casino were gobbled up by Boyd Gaming like so many Skittles, Station Casinos absorbed the Palms, relative newcomer Golden Entertainment has taken American Casino Entertainment Properties off the board and SLS Las Vegas has been shopped to small-time operator Meruelo Group — how the not-so-mighty have fallen. It’s a measure of how problematic SLS is that Stockbridge Capital had to go to Reno to find a buyer and even had to settle for a second-tier operator, Eldorado Resorts evidently having no great lust for SLS.
Fitch Ratings analyst Alex Bumazhny pegs Affinity Gaming as the next company to try and move upward in the gaming world: “They have a decent-size portfolio both in Nevada as well as a couple properties out of state.” If they do, we hope Affinity cleans up its act. We’ve stayed at three Affinity properties in Primm and are hard-pressed to say anything in their favor. It’s a brand identity that wouldn’t necessarily benefit the customer if extended to a larger scale.
