Case Bets: Wynn in Philly, topless in Vegas, Pegasus crashes

It’s a slow news day in the industry, though not without its amusing elements. For instance, the Philadelphia Inquirer devoted a significant amount of ink to the weighty question of whether half-dozen casinos in the greater Philly area might be far too many. (Never mind that Atlantic City, way out on the coast, has 11 … possibly 12, if Revel gets the tax breaks it’s seeking.)

Much of the grumbling comes from the usual suspects — activists who never wanted casinos in the first place and casino owners who get pissy at the prospect of competition. Seriously, to hear Parx Casino, the state’s revenue leader, howl about the threat posed by a comparatively small “resort” casino in Valley Forge, is like seeing a gladiator cowering at the sight of a mouse. Cowboy up there, Parx.

What’s more interesting is the re-emergence of private-equity mogul Ira Lubert as a potential casino owner. As S&G covered back in July of ’08, Lubert had quite a shell game going. In addition to seeking a $10 million piece of Rivers Casino, Lubert proposed to sell shares of his Valley Forge casino to Cannery Resorts, possibly to Foxwoods or even Harrah’s Entertainment as well, potentially putting the owners of as many as six Pennsylvania casinos in bed together. (Rivers Casino is owned by Neil Bluhm, who is building SugarHouse Casino in Philly.) Whether Lubert is still peddling that super-incestuous scheme, the Inquirer sayeth not.

However, if the paper is correct, it’s common knowledge around Philadelphia that Steve Wynn is going to take charge of the stuck-in-the-mud Foxwoods project. Its owners have been fart-assing around for an awful long time without breaking ground. If Wynn is the wings, ready to apply a steadying hand to the project, that would explain why Foxwoods hasn’t had its license pulled, even though Keystone State regulators have as much justification as they need.

So, if Steve Wynn is about to make his presence felt along the banks of the Delaware River, why haven’t the newspapers back in Las Vegas said boo on the subject? Either the Inquirer is all wet or it’s stolen a huge march on its Vegas counterparts.

Battle rejoined. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg has been resumed. In this case, the causus belli is the advisability of erecting a casino a half-mile from the historic battleground. If the project should be kiboshed, the critical issue would appear to be a dearth of public utilities in the area of the Eisenhower Inn. If you have to schlep water in during the summer, you probably shouldn’t be going into a high-volume business like casino gambling. Out here in Vegas, we’re really getting schooled on the folly of development first, infrastructure later (maybe). Of course, it’s David LeVan‘s prerogative to go ahead and try but “Mason Dixon Resort & Casino” has the look of business failure written all over it.

There’s a reason that new product on the Strip is tilted toward high-end customers and the numbers make it plain why that is. In dollar volume, baccarat play just had its second-best year and had its largest percentage of Strip play ever. Although if you’re Aria and 75%-plus of your first fortnight’s gambling revenue came from baccarat, that’s so disproportionate I’d worry a bit about what’s wrong with my slot, craps and blackjack play (25% combined?!?).

Paying the bills. It behooves me to let you know that not only is the print edition of LVA‘s Topless Vegas a mere $9.95 — such a deal! — but that the $6.95 e-book version has been updated. Given the amount of flux in the adult-entertainment scene here, such as the imminent demise of the Pussycat Dolls Lounge, the e-book format gives LVA the opportunity to, er, stay abreast of events.

Mea culpa. Last week, in discussing one of those “sin funds,” I said Genting Bhd didn’t seem like such a bad play, especially in a portfolio that included underpeforming SJM and bargain-price Las Vegas Sands.

My bad. Genting Singapore PLC is one of the dogs of the market, -28% since the start of 2010. The opening of Resorts World Sentosa didn’t help, sending the stock down 11%. Why? Daily visitor volume (20K) has been only 59% of break-even. And Genting’s megaresort is more overtly touristy than Sands’ still-in-progress Marina Bay Sands. Back in 2005, when the Singapore market was just beginning to open up, discussions of its potential were interwoven with an abundance of caution. Somewhere along the way, that caution got misplaced — but we’re beginning to see it come back, big time.

Clipped wings. Another “failsino” has bitten the dust, this time the Pegasus casino-condo concept, at one time envisioned for Tropicana Avenue, just west of the railroad underpass. Pegasus’ jockeys think they can get $2.4 million an acre. In this economy? Lotsa luck.