Thanks in part to some dramatic table-game numbers, Las Vegas Strip revenues leapt 9% last month. It wasn’t baccarat: That highly volatile game was actually pretty stable, with 6% more win on 7% less wagering (the house played lucky). Other table games, however, were an eye-popping 25.5% higher on just 7% greater wagering. Strip slots were mild, up 1.5% on 5% more coin-in. Locals casinos, by contrast (and despite an outwardly favorable calendar), were down 4%, although that was somewhat impacted by August ending on a Saturday, meaning that the slot hoppers weren’t dumped until Sept. 2. Slot win slid 7%.
Strip casinos grossed $521 million, while Downtown drew $45 million, a 2% dip. The Boulder Strip got hammered, grossing $55 million for a 12% falloff. North Las Vegas ($19.5 million) got hit even worse, diving 16.5%. By contrast, miscellaneous Clark County raked in $103 million for a 4% gain. Laughlin ($39 million) was up 1.5%, while Reno jumped 5% to $64.5 million. August should have been a prime period for Lake Tahoe but it grossed only $24 million, 11.5% off. However, Elko had a dramatically good month, up 11% to $27 million.
* Proclaiming his confidence in the enduring appeal of steakhouses, Tilman Fertitta announced that he had acquired Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group. The deal is a testimony to Fertitta’s patience. He had coveted Del Frisco’s since 2012 but had to wait for a rival bid by the L Catterton fund to close. The fund, which had trouble raising debt for the $650 million purchase, nominally acquired Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouses and Del Frisco’s Grilles and immediately flipped them to Fertitta, retaining some comparatively minor assets.
Fertitta is betting that there will always be a market for a $145 45-day dry-aged double-bone prime ribeye. While the chain has restaurants in Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas and Fertitta’s home town of Houston, we have little doubt that Fertitta will monetize the transaction by opening Del Frisco’s in his casinos. The deal gives Fertitta his tenth and eleventh steakhouse brands. While he’s skeptical of the rising popularity of meat substitutes, “if customers want them,” he says he’ll oblige. We doubt he’ll need to.
