In what is a first of its kind, an American sporting league has an “official gaming partner.” The NBA has tapped MGM Resorts International to be the casino face of the league. This would 
mean, according to Bloomberg, “MGM will be able to use official NBA and WNBA logos and trademarks, and have access to official NBA data streams to create products like in-game betting.” It’s not such a big leap when you consider that MGM already owns and hosts the former San Antonio Stars of the WNBA. “It was very important that we were able to establish through a commercial relationship that indeed we should be compensated for our intellectual property and our official data,” remarked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver of the $25 million deal.
Since Silver was the first league commissioner to see the value in sports betting, it’s logical that he would be the first to strike an agreement also. MGM CEO Jim Murren called the agreement “a 
work in progress.” After all, the NBA opposes state-by-state regulation of sports betting while MGM likes things fine just the way they are. Also, while MGM may be the “official” face of the NBA, the pact allows the NBA to cut side deals with other gambling companies. Why get hitched when you can play the field? Also, each NBA and WNBA team has autonomy to choose its own gaming partner. There are going to be a lot of somebodies making a lot of money off the new arrangement.
The NBA/WNBA contract comes on the heels of a new partnership between MGM and GVC (parent of Ladbrokes, Coral, bwin and partypoker) in which MGM and Boyd Gaming casinos will offer GVC-based sports-betting and Internet-gambling services. As Murren said of the fast-moving story, “We’re literally going to be in every state in the U.S. that will approve sports betting.” Yes, and we expect more shoes to fall before the week is out, so fast-moving is this story.
* Station Casinos beat Wall Street estimates for 2Q18 cash flow, propelled by improved business at the Palms and Palace Station, where construction disruption has dissipated. “We continue to see a healthy … growth story driven by strong LV locals fundamentals and the benefits of capital expenditures at key locals properties,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli. 
Once the Palms and Palace Station are filtered out of the results, cash flow was up an impressive (to say the least) 14%. JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff wrote that the “results reflect its strong positioning in a healthy/growing LV locals market, same-store market share gains there, and a lessening impact from construction disruption at Palace and Palms.”
Corporate expenses were a little bit lower and Native American casino-management revenues a little bit higher, but the headline was the Las Vegas economy, which continues to thrive. Greff quantified it thusly: “low unemployment (~4.7%), steady wage growth (pacing +4%), a stable housing market, and strong construction pipeline (~$14b, with positive construction job growth).” New Palms amenities are “starting to gain traction” although there will be some casino-floor uprooting when Station gets to Phase III of its makeover.
* William Clifford has left Gaming & Leisure Properties and taken a $9.6 million golden parachute with him. We wish him well and hope he can make ends meet on his retirement package.
