Keeping its signature Os, Hooters Hotel Casino becomes an OYO Hotel property this week, with a full transformation expected by 
year’s end. (Gotta be ready for New Year’s Eve.) The changes are subtle at first. Hotel management goes over to Highgate while Paragon Gaming, getting a vote of confidence, stays on as casino operator. Night Owl showroom tickets are still valid and your loyalty card points will roll over OYO Rewards Club. OYO says that Hooters is merely its first hotel in Las Vegas. It’s a sellers’ market right now, so we’re curious where OYO will land next.
* Phil Ruffin is tipped by Bloomberg as the phantom buyer of Circus Circus, which practically makes it official. JP Morgan 
analysts value the clown casino at 8X cash flow, so it will be interesting to see if MGM Resorts International gives Ruffin the same home-town discount he got on Treasure Island and knocks it down to 7X EBITDA. If Treasure Island is any guide, Ruffin will remake things in his own image—but probably won’t be in a hurry to implode Circus Circus proper, especially with so much underemployed acreage with which to play.
* The effect of MGM Springfield on Connecticut tribal casinos appears to be slackening. At least the declines are smaller than they were. In July, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino 
had slot-revenue drops of 15% and 11%. Last month, Mohegan Sun was down only 6.5% and Foxwoods slipped 5%. Mohegan Sun’s slot revenue was $50 million, of which the state got $12.5 million. Foxwoods reaped $39.5 million from the one-armed bandits, sending $10 million to Hartford. By comparison, MGM Springfield made $15.5 million at the slots, far behind the tribal behemoths. Even smash-hit Encore Boston Harbor could get no closer to the tribal leaders than $20 million. One underestimates the durability of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun at one’s peril, as MGM is learning the hard way.
* One stock trader with brass balls bought $4 million in Las Vegas Sands options last week, reckoning on the stock reaching $63.20 by the end of January. You’ve got to admire that kind of cool nerve. Trading at the moment at $56.30, LVS shares don’t have to climb very far for this high-stakes wager to pay dividends.
* Macao‘s casino economy shows signs of continued strength. Junket commissions were at a four-year high in 2018, while the industry’s contribution to the local economy—$25 billion-plus—was the most since 2014. Reinvestment in the local economy was also up. Operating expenses rose 14%, largely driven by comps. 18.5% more was investing in research and marketing. Wages were up 5%.
On the other side of the ledger, the 2019 decline has yet to hit bottom. Morgan Stanley analysts project a 3% year/year dip and for next year they’re predicting 3% revenue growth. So it’s a wash but obviously things could be a lot worse. “Many 
macroeconomic indicators are suggesting a VIP recovery between now and December, yet VIP revenue has deteriorated further in the past three months,” wrote analysts Praveen Choudhary and Thomas Allen. They described declines in mass-market revenue as “an even bigger concern,” should it cool off in 4Q19. Sands China and Wynn Macau have already announced slowdowns in premium-mass business, “as well as slower growth in room nights sold, owing to delays in new hotel openings.”
Mass-market revenue is expected to grow 7% next year, compensating for an anticipated 2% slippage in VIP win. Meanwhile, Grand Lisboa Palace, that monument to Stanley Ho, drags even farther behind schedule. Completion is now foreseen in January 2021. Its license expires in June 2022. Well done, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau.
