Eldorado Resorts has pulled out of a planned sale of Isle of Capri Lake Charles to tribally owned Kicks Entertainment. At least one analyst, JP Morgan‘s Daniel Politzer, sees this as a good thing. For starters, Eldorado pockets Kicks’ $20 million deposit. “While investors may 
initially view this news negatively, we see a silver lining here as it enables ERI to either (1) take advantage of the favorable/active M&A environment to obtain a far better transaction multiple for the property …. or (2) fully integrate the property into its existing portfolio.” He added, “we estimate ~$10m of EBITDA upside if the property were run similarly to ERI’s other properties.” However, as Isle Lake Charles is the weakest property in the market, its appeal for Eldorado may be negligible. Unfortunately for the company, two of the more aggressive hunters and seekers of acquisitions, Pinnacle Entertainment and Boyd Gaming, already have strong Lake Charles footholds. But Penn National Gaming does not and Caesars Entertainment might want to get back into the market, one that Gary Loveman foolishly forfeited in favor of added exposure in Biloxi. New CEO Mark Frissora certainly has an itch to spend, judging by that 11X EBITDA he just blew on Centaur Gaming.
* We were speculating that the East Windsor satellite casino might be a Machiavellian plot by Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun to void their compacts with Connecticut. Foxwoods is certainly pushing the envelope. It’s installed 100 electronic-bingo machines, 
devices that fall outside the realm of the Mashantucket Pequots‘ compact with the state. Although the Class II machines would be tax exempt, tribal Chairman Rodney Butler says Foxwoods is playing ball with the state: “We’re working with the state on an incredible partnership, in fact expanding our wonderful partnership that goes back 25 years. We would never put that in jeopardy.” However, Rep. Joe Verrengia (D, pictured) calls the timing “very odd,” adding, “It’s after the fact, after we just spent so much time debating the casino and the financial impact that a new casino would have on the state.” This is not to mention that the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs is weighing whether the satellite casino falls within or without the scope of Foxwoods’ and Mohegan Sun’s existing compacts. Adding new, unauthorized forms of gaming would seem like a stick in the BIA’s eye.
When Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull pointed out that the bingo machines were untested and unlicensed, she received a frosty reply from Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Gaming Commission Chairman George Henningsen. “While the Commission appreciates both your position and your concerns, we would respectfully suggest that there is overwhelming support for our position that the subject Devices are technologic aids to the play of bingo,” he wrote. We have to agree with Verrengia: Foxwoods has chosen an odd time to rattle the state’s chain,
