A minor brouhaha has been playing out in the pages of Howard Stutz‘s blog. Last Friday, Susquehanna Financial Group apparently sacked gaming analyst Robert LaFleur. “[D]ue to the departure of the analyst from the firm,” said SFG, with faultless deadpan comedic delivery, it would be discontinuing coverage of the sector.
For all of one day, that is. Even before LaFleur’s seat cushion was cool, Rachael Rothman had been designated to fill it. So casino coverage is back “on” at SFG. Could this have anything to do with LaFleur’s divergence from the preferred narrative that MGM Mirage is running away from the field with CityCenter? Or his blowing the whistle on sinking room rates at Aria? In the gaming sector, nobody dares whisper a discouraging word about, say, the ongoing fiasco that is Marina Bay Sands, so Lerner’s CityCenter heresy probably came as a rude shock. It will be interesting to see where he and lands and whether Ms. Rothman is more inclined to sing from the Wall Street hymnal.
From the article:
“Meanwhile, LaFleur showed actual data and it is damning. Aria room rates fell $90 for Saturday, Feb. 6? That’s 25 percent! It also means that Aria that night, at $269, is less than Bellagio, which is presently at $299. The place has only been open a month; surely if there’s as much excitement about it as Lerner believes, Aria would be able to stay at least even with her own older sister?”
– Killing the messenger?